This weekend, if you’re a South African Facebook user over the age of 18, you’ll see a message at the top your newsfeed on desktop or mobile, reminding you to register to vote.

This is because the social network has teamed up with the Independent Electoral Commission to launch a voter registration campaign for all those eligible to vote.

The voter registration button comes just in time for the final voter registration weekend happening from tomorrow. The button will be live from 12pm on Saturday until 12pm on Sunday.

The image below shows what the button will look like.

Clicking the left link in the message will direct you to the IEC website, which will give you information about how to register to vote. You’ll also be able to share with your friends that you’ve registered.

This is the first time Facebook has launched such a feature in Africa. The button has been used in the previous US, UK and India elections.

“Past studies have found that voters who see more of their Facebook friends talking about voting are more likely to vote themselves,” the company said in a statement.

“Voter turnout is an important issue around the world and in South Africa, especially among younger people…We hope that through partnerships like this one with the Electoral Commission, we can make sure those conversations lead to higher turnout on 3rd August when South Africa goes to the polls,” said Ebele Okobi, Head of Public Policy for Facebook Africa.

“Our records show that about 80 percent of eligible voters who are not yet registered are under 30 years old. Facebook is a great way for us to be able to get a message directly to young people who may otherwise be hard to reach and to engage with young people around the importance of voting,” added Marco Granelli, IEC Senior Manager of communications.

[Image – IEC]